Death Walks With Shadows
by Game-Start
Summary: After the conclusion of the Kira investigation and the Inaba case, all seems peaceful. That is until The singular successor to L's name catches wind of crime picking up once again in Inaba, and has suspicions of Beyond Birthday's return form the grave as a Shadow. What exactly do the Shinigami and Shadows have in common? And is BB in fact the new killer, or a puppet?
1. Chapter 1

A small boy with messy snow-colored hair, dressed entirely in white from head to toe, sat in the Junes food court poking at a slab of chocolate cake. "Mello..." he muttered. A tall, sophisticated looking man with cheek-length black hair sat next to him, holding a folder, filled with documents. "How are you adjusting?" he asked the small boy. "It's different from London. The weather is much warmer here. I've found myself actually wearing clothing that has short sleeves." he answered. The older man reached over to his small partner's cake, and stole some of the icing using the tip of his finger. He then wiped the icing on the small boy's nose and smiled. The boy looked up at the icing thief and said, "No fair, I can't reach your face." "Whoa!" yelled a voice to the left of the duo. Boxes fell onto the table they sat at, and squished the small boy's cake. In response to this, he simply frowned. It appeared a store worker dropped the boxes, and fell over onto the table himself. The worker stood back up, and straightened out his uniform. "S-Sorry about that!" he said. The worker was shorter than the older man from the duo, but much taller than the boy, and had a hair color that would remind one of a deer's coat. The snowy haired boy looked up at him with a face that expressed complete and utter disappointment. The worker rubbed the back of his head and smiled wryly. "H-Hey don't worry about that, I'll get you a new piece of cake. By the way, my name's Yosuke Hanamura. My dad runs the store," he extended his hand out to the younger member of the duo, "What's your name? I don't think I've seen you around here before." The boy just stared at the clerk, as if he was attempting to analyze him. The raven-haired man took up the worker's handshake offer and said, "My name is Stephan Gevanni, and this here is, well I suppose you could call him my mater, Near." The small boy lightly hit the man in his side, and looked at him with a puzzled expression. "I thought you weren't going to give out your real name" he said. Gevanni smiled at his little master, "I assure you this one will be no trouble." he said. Yosuke hung his head and he picked up the boxes scattered across the table. "Jeez, I haven't know these people for five minutes and I'm already getting burned." he said. Near climbed onto the table and helped stack the boxes rather quickly. He'd always had a dislike for the unorganized. Near said, "You're slow, Mr. Hanamura." Yosuke expressed a face of contempt, _damn brat, _he thought to himself.

Gevanni pulled on Near's sleeve and motioned that it was time to go home, as they had files to review. Murders started picking up again in the Inaba area, with a new killer seeing as how Tohru Adachi was currently behind bars. Near now assumed the role of L, so the police department requested he help with the case, in order to not have a drawn out investigation like the previous year's mishaps. "Wait, I want to look at the toys first." Near said. Gevanni sighed, knowing he'd up spending a grand on toys, but let his little partner run off to the Junes toy department, and followed behind at a slower pace. After catching up to Near, Gevanni seen him climbing up the shelves to retrieve master grade kit from the hit anime, Gundam. He'd often told Gevanni he wanted to build his own, fully functioning robot suit so he wouldn't need protection from others. Naturally being as small as he was, Near slipped and started to fall, only to be caught by a man slightly shorter than Gevanni. "Watch out little dude! You're gonna end up getting hurt." He had bleached-blond hair and a scar above his left eye. The man gently sat Near down, and handed him the toy Near tried to climb after. "Nice!" the man said. Gevanni extended his hand to the blond, as per tradition, and said, "Thank you for catching him. My name is Gevanni, and this is Near." he said, pointing at the small boy with his other hand. The man returned the gesture, "Kanji Tasumi is the name, sewing is my game. You know, you kinda remind me of a guy I know. He's always shaking peoples' hands and being friendly." Gevanni smiled, "Oh really?" he asked. Kanji nodded and smiled. Near held his toy's box closed to his chest, and stood behind Gevanni, peeking out from behind his leg. Kanji frowned slightly, "I didn't scare the little guy, did I?" Gevanni shook his head in disagreement. "Don't worry, he's just shy. He always has been since his father passed on." Kanji sighed, and looked at the small child. They exchanged words without speaking, knowing what the other had been through. "Hey uh, if you ever need someone to talk to, you can talk to me, little guy." Near nodded, listening to Kanji speak. Near could tell the blond man was being honest, and kept the thought in the back of his mind.

Another person approached the conversing trio, and bumped into the blond on accident. "Sorry Kanji I-" the new person was cut off upon seeing the child standing behind Gevanni. It wasn't very obvious which gender this person was, so Near stayed quiet. The new person extended their hand first to Gevanni and said, "Naoto Shirogane is my name. You look familiar, have you been here before?" Gevanni shook the person's hand and nodded. "I have, but I don't recall ever seeing you. Perhaps I know one of your family members? Shirogane... The name sounds very familiar. Are you Sparrow's granddaughter?" At first the person seemed a bit unnerved, but quickly regained their composure, "Yes, I am. So, you're one of Watari's associates?" she said. Gevanni shook his head, and Near stepped out from behind him. "More boring work talk. Mr. Tatsumi, can you take me to the register so I can pay for this?" asked Near, raising his toy above his head. "Sure little dude!" Near tugged on the bottom of Gevanni's blazer, wanting the money for his toy. Gevanni grunted, reluctantly handed Near the money, and watched him dart off with Kanji towards the register. He could hear the small boy say 'zoom zoom' over and over again, being mimicked by the tall blond as well. He looked back at Naoto and said, "Did Sparrow move out here for retirement, or did your family have a hand in solving that big murder case?" asked Gevanni. Naoto explained the events of Inaba, and her living with her grandfather here in Inaba. Gevanni shook his head, showing he understood. "Oh, who is the child you have with you? Grandpa never said anything about you having a son." said Naoto. Gevanni said, "The snowball? Under normal circumstances I can't say anything about him, but your family being our associates, it's okay. You know about L, correct? The world's most legendary detective?" Naoto smiled from ear to ear and grabbed the bill of her cap, pulling it down slightly, "Yes, I... I admire L. I've never met or seen him, but he has solved more cases than there are people living in Inaba." Gevanni continued, "Well, L passed away during the Kira investigation of a heart attack, as well as Watari. I myself have filled Watari's shoes for case purposes, and his friend Roger took over Wammy's Orphanage. That boy, is L's only biological child. It was never released in any kind of documentation, so I highly doubt that even your grandfather would know of Near's existence. Near, has assumed the role of L." Naoto was utterly shocked by the information flowing into her brain. One of her biggest idols had died and been replaced by a child, a child who's existence was to be kept secret. A child that, just a moment ago seemed like just an innocent little mind that loved robots.

"You're telling me that he is the new L? And L, the world's greatest detective surpassing even my own family, was killed by Kira? The killer who only needed a name. How, how did he find out L's true name and identity? Even we only knew him as a letter and synthesized voice." said Naoto. Before Gevanni could explain any father, Near and Kanji came running back towards them, still with their arms stretching from side to side, accompanied by their created airplane sounds. Near sat directly between Naoto and Gevanni, essentially cutting off their conversation. Near opened the box holding his toy that needed assembled, and removed some of the pieces as if he planned to put the toy together right there in the store. Gevanni took the pieces from his hand, and waved his finger in the small boy's face. "Wait till we get home, Near." The snowball frowned, and put the pieces back in the box. He stood up, and once again hid behind Gevanni's leg. He stared at Naoto, feeling like he'd seen her before. Near looked up at Gevanni with a slight smile. "We have to visit Mr. Tatsumi soon. He said he'd make a pillow for me in the shape of the 00 Raiser's head." Gevanni looked towards Kanji, showing an expression of relief. "Near normally can't make friends, but he's taken a liking to you. He, tends to wander around a lot when he's not playing with his toys. Can you look out for him?" asked Gevanni. Kanji smiled and gave him a thumbs up, "Sure, I'll look after the little dude for ya!" Naoto smiled as well, "It'll be a pleasure working with you in the future Mr. Gevanni, and you too Near." Near looked down at the ground due to his bashful nature around most girls. The only female he appears to have never been nervous around was Halle Linder, a woman from the SPK who was the closest thing he had to a mother. He knew who his biological mother was, but made no attempts to find her as she had already passed away during the Kira investigation.

A loud crash of thunder echoed throughout the store, and the lights quickly turned off, then back on. The group agreed to meet up another day, and that it was best to head home before rain settled into the area. As the group left the store, Near said, "Don't forget the Midnight Channel." to Naoto and Kanji, signaling he knew all about the murders, as well as Personas and Shadows. They didn't have a care at the moment, so Gevanni carried Near on his back, and held his toy in his own arms to avoid having Near drop it in the rain. Upon returning home, Near noticed his home wasn't too far away from Tatsumi Textiles, and planned to frequently visit there. He felt a strange sense of fatherly influences emitting from Kanji, something he'd missed for a long time. Near placed his new Gundam project in his room, and ran back to the living room and sat beside Gevanni on their single couch located directly in front a wall of televisions. "Dad, watched the Midnight Channel every chance he got. Had Kira not been around, I'd say he too would've had a hand in the investigation here. I remember him telling me one time he seen Beyond Birthday on there, and was fascinated by it since Beyond Birthday supposedly died in jail. He explained to me those creatures called, Shadows. He believed Beyond Birthday's Shadow lurked around in the TV. I didn't quite understand but, but maybe we'll figure something out tonight." said Near. Gevanni turned all of the televisions off and listened to the rain patter against their roof and windows. Sure enough, midnight came and the televisions lit up on their own. A hazy figure was seen through the static, and it appeared to be holding something that looked like a jar. Near's first suspicion was that it had to be Beyond Birthday, but could a dead man's Shadow really still exist? And if that is the truth, does that mean the Kira investigation could very well continue? If Beyond Birthday has somehow survived, then Light Yagami could exist in the same world. The two of them decided tomorrow that they would visit Kanji, because he was the closest to them, and a Persona user.


	2. Chapter 2

Upon waking the next morning, Near found their home's electricity vanished, blanketing the inside with darkness. No lights of televisions would turn on, and the windows yielded an avalanche of water that drowned any who decided it was worth the venture outside. The streets began to pool with rivers consisting of the sky's tears, lighting ripped dark gray clouds to shreds and struck the ground with a loud, thunderous roar. His room was upstairs, arranged with a futon, robot toys scattered across the floor, bookshelves lined with various manga, a model of the Millennium Falcon hanging from his ceiling, a wall consisting of nothing but televisions and game consoles resting on the ground in front of them, and a large 00 Raiser statue beside the window giving a bird's eye view to the outside world. Normally Gevanni slept in the same room as Near for his own safety given that the small boy rarely slept, but the previous night was a bit different. Gevanni stayed downstairs to keep an eye on the TV World as Near slept, and ended up passing out on the couch. Near walked downstairs without making the slightest sound, and found Gevanni was laying the same position he had been at the moment he gave way to the dream-filled wonderland known as sleep. The rain had no effect on the sleeping man, so Near used this to his advantage. Rarely was he able to go outside without Gevanni glued to his hip, and although the storm raged with the wrath of the Gods, disappointed in the way humanity treats their land. Near slipped into a pair of worn out black sneakers that already started to pull itself away from the sole, grabbed an umbrella, and quietly stepped outside, locking the door behind him. He knew Gevanni would probably worry, but nevertheless wanted to visit the shrine rumored to have a fox that can communicate with humans residing near it.

The storm outside had surprisingly little wind, but the rain acted as if it wanted to destroy the shelter held above Near's head. Not a soul was seen wandering in the streets, nor lights inside homes. Animals hide beneath steps and under awnings, and what few birds still flew through the sky frantically tried to reach their nests in time. As Near made his way to the shrine, he seen the fox of rumor. He approached the animal, but it made no plans to interact with the small boy, and dashed up the path leading to the shrine. Near followed, splashing water around with every step he took, ruining his bottoms, and his shoes beyond repair. Eventually he got up to the fox, and seen it sat beside the offertory box holding an ema in it's mouth. The mouth stared at the small boy, as if it were trying to communicate telepathically. The fox perked it's ears up as straight as possible, and made a quiet, low growling sound. There was something he didn't like about Near, and the boy's reasoning for that was the Death Note strapped to his body. He'd kept it with him at all times since the conclusion of the Kira investigation, in a attempt to prevent another Kira from emerging. The snowy-haired child approached the fox slowly, reaching one hand out to it as a greeting gesture, telling him to come sniff his hand to see Near posed no threat. The fox walked forward, feet pattering against the cold, wet, and cemented pathway. The ema swayed from side to side, so the fox let it rest on the ground before sniffing Near's hand. The fox come to the conclusion of the boy posing no threat, but still kept it's ears razor sharp due to the unsettling feeling in the air. A creature hovered behind the small boy, having pale blue skin, abnormally long limbs and wide lips stretching to the back of his cheeks, black feathers protruding from his back forming makeshift wings, and donned a Gothic outfit that would remind one of Victorian-era London. It's eyes were yellow, with red irises the color of crimson gold that flowed through all living things. "Oh look, a red fox. One that can see me," the thing said in a rather gruff and mocking voice. It's voice resembled that of a smoker's. Near said nothing, and walked up to the shrine with the fox beside him. The small boy took a seat behind the offertory box, and closed him umbrella, as he now had protection from the shrine's overhang. Together he sat with the fox and watched the storm rage on, and the gangling creature floated above the shrine itself, keeping his eyes peeled for entertainment.

Nearly half an hour passed and the rain refused to ease. The creature lowered himself down, directly in front of the small boy and his fur-covered new friend. It spoke, "Hey there foxy foxy. It's rude of me to not say my name, so it's Ryuk. I'm surprised you can see me, given you haven't touched the Death Note. But I guess animals are different from humans, huh? Just don't prove to be boring." after concluding his statement, Ryuk flew back high into the sky above the shrine, enjoying the storm raging across the land. Peering down the pavement providing access to the shrine, the small boy seen what appeared to be the figure of a man. He wasn't tall enough to be Gevanni, so he braced himself in the case of it being some kind of mugger. He'd always been taught from a young age to be able to defend himself, and was trained in the discipline of his predecessor, capoeira. The figure approached him, seeming to have no awareness of the small boy being there. The visitor became clearer as it progressed, and was obviously a male. Near rose form his sitting position, and watched carefully as the man stopped at the place of donation, fearing it was somebody wanting to take his life. Through the torrential waterfall of rain falling from the shrine's roof, a hand was extended to the small boy. "Hello." said a voice that radiated with warmth and kindness. Near at first was hesitant, but knew if worst came to worst, he had the Death Note with him. That was the only reason he carried the cursed book on his person, for his own protection. Reluctantly he shook the man's hand, then quickly pulled away, backing himself against the shrine. The man stepped forward and under the overhang, to shelter himself from the rain and speak with them small boy. He donned the same uniform as the others Near met previously. He assumed the lot of them were all friends. "Hello there, my name is Yu Narukami." the man said.

Near felt a strange presence about the man. His hair was gray, a fairly uncommon hair color for the young. And the man wasn't albino like himself, so he wondered what made this mysterious person so offsetting. A light bulb lit up in Near's mind. He remembered the surname Narukami having something to do with the Midnight Channel. Did he aid the killer? No, that couldn't be right. He felt too, honest to be the killer's accomplice. The small boy sat back on the ground, and hugged his knees against his chest. The gray-haired man sat down next to the boy, and stared out at the rain. "So, what's a small person like you doing out here by himself? Are you from here?" the man asked. The boy peeked over at the man, answering his question, "I like being by myself, but I don't like being lonely. Storms calm me. They're so violent, and yet so beautiful at the same time. It, reminds me of home. It rained all the time there. This place. It's different." Near said. Yu was surprised to hear a boy who looked so young say something that would seem more like what an adult would say. Near created a solemn feeling the air, making it obvious he wasn't the typical child. "Where are your parents?" he asked. Near looked away from the man, and rested his chin against his knees. Parents was not the best topic of choice, as he didn't know who his mother was, and his father well, was never legally his father and was kept under wraps. Yu didn't prod any farther, recognizing the same behaviors from when he first met Nanako. "Well, what's your name?" he asked. The boy answered, "Just call me Near." An awkward silence occurred between the two, only to be ended by a police car racing past on the road below. The silver-haired man quickly stood up, and chased after it. Near followed, quietly.

The police car came to a stop in front of the snowball boy's home. His stomach churned with uneasiness. A tallish middle-aged man with grayish black hair exited the vehicle and proceeded inside of the home. The door had apparently been opened by somebody after Near left. Oddly enough, it wasn't forced open. Near darted past Yu, and inside of his home. Upon entering, his eyes were graced by the seen of Gevanni's face pressed against the cold wooden floor, his body appearing to be lifeless. "He's still got a pulse." said the man with hair the resembled dark ash. He turned to face Near, and seen Yu approach from behind him. The man asked, "Is this your dad, little boy?" Near was offset by this, even though he was only fourteen years old, he didn't want to be viewed as a child, and stand on equal ground with his father. The small boy thought of something that would give away who he was, without giving it away directly to the public. A quote of his father's that rang throughout the ears of all detectives in Japan. Near said, "Kira is childish and he hates losing. I'm also childish and hate to lose. That's how I know." The middle-aged man was shocked at the statement, having been told at the station if he ever heard a child utter those words, that child was the heir to L's prestigious name. Of course nearly everyone assumed there was no heir, given it was never announced. But now Near lightly stepped over Gevanni's cold body, and sat on the ground beside of him. He lifted his caretaker's head in order to view his eyes, and knew instantly who committed the crime upon seeing how lifeless Gevanni's eyes were. They were blank, dead, cold, absent, lifeless with a faint hue of yellow. Golden yellow, a yellow he'd seen before. On that channel one rainy night. Near stood up from examining Gevanni's body and said, "I know exactly who did this. But, you more than likely will have no records of him. And if you do manage to find something, it will says he's deceased." The middle-aged man extended his hand to Near, with a tight-lipped smile, indicating he wasn't exactly happy to be working with someone so young. However Near could sense a sliver of hope in the smile, and shook his hand. "Ryotaro Dojima." said the man. "That young man behind you is my nephew. What-" Dojima was interrupted by a crash through the doorway. Two feet firmly planted on the ground as if the person fell. "What happened here little dude?!" the voice belonged to none other than Kanji Tatsumi, dressed in a pajama set with a kitten pattern on it and no shoes on his feet. His hair stuck up in various locations Kanji rushed over to Near and grabbed onto his shoulders rather tightly. "What happened? Are you alright? I seen the fuzz from my window and ran!" Near gently pushed the tall, panicked boy back and tried to calm him. "I'm fine, don't worry. Nothing happened to me but. I have something I want to discuss with you." The small boy then turned to Dojima with a humorless expression and said, "The police department. It's going to be the new headquarters for the SPK, and my associates will be here within the week. Take Gevanni to the station. He hasn't passed, so there's hope to bring the human part of him back to life." Naturally Dojima reacted to this with a hearty laugh, but was quickly silenced upon seeing how serious Near was about the situation.

Without saying a word, Dojima left and tugged on his nephew's sleeve, signaling for him to depart as well, taking Gevanni's soulless body with them, leaving Near alone with Kanji in the know empty home. Near looked to the ground with discontent, pondering what to do next. Being as young as he was, he knew law wouldn't allow him to live by himself, although he was perfectly capable of doing so. Kanji broke the silence and straight out asked, "Hey uh, do you wanna stay with me? I'm sure Ma wouldn't mind and it'd be cool to have a little brother running around the house." Near was surprised by Kanji's gesture. They'd only known each other since yesterday, and now he offered to live together. Normally, Near would have refused and went about his business alone, but deep down he knew if he wanted to catch Beyond Birthday once again for Wammy's organization, he couldn't do it alone. A small part of him hoped to make a friend, contradicting his entire way of thinking, but perhaps that's how the rumored 'persona-users' are. He noticed Kanji had a magnetic personality, and wanted to learn more about his past. "Little brother?" muttered Near. He smiled slightly to himself, and looked and Kanji whom radiated with warmth. Near said, "Well, I suppose I can't stay here alone. Being alone, it gets tiring. Sure, I'll come stay with you, however most of my time will be spent with the SPK." Kanji lifted the small boy into the air and said, "Fine with me! Now c'mon lets go home. Got some animal crackers to eat."


End file.
